Published December 23, 2014 at 6:11 PM Updated December 23, 2014 at 8:19 PM

Recent political changes in Egypt have strengthened it’s historic relations with China. CCTV America’s Robert Nagila reported this story from Nairobi, Kenya.

Egypt looking more towards China for trade, development

Egypt looking more towards China for trade, development

Recent political changes in Egypt have strengthened it's historic relations with China.

Egypt was the first African country to establish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China in 1956. But in the years that followed, Egypt chose the former USSR as its main international ally, and then from the 1970s, it aligned with the U.S.

Recent political changes have prompted a rethink, and Egypt now hopes to balance its foreign policy and investments to help revive its economy. Egyptian President Abdel Fatah El Sisi has set up a ministerial task force to study areas of cooperation and he is currently in Beijing on an official two-day visit to develop trade ties.